White thrilled about performances of Moodie, Goosen as Bulls turn focus to URC

While deeply disappointed after their Challenge Cup quarter-final exit, Bulls director of rugby Jake White is happy they suffered no injuries during the game, and in fact enjoyed good performances from key players who had been out in recent weeks.

He said this bodes well for their last four United Rugby Championship (URC) league matches – starting with Munster this weekend – and the ensuing playoffs, which the Bulls are in good position to be a part of at home being third on the points table currently.

Moodie and Goosen shine for Bulls

Springbok wing Canan Moodie returned from his head injury assessment to put in a good showing as a substitute from the 43rd minute against Edinburgh on Saturday. Despite his relatively short time on the field and being on the losing side, he still made the most line-breaks on the day (four) and third-most carries (nine).

“I always say it, he’s got class. He’s been out for a while and to have him back – I mean, all the touches he had were outstanding,” White said.

The coach added for Moodie to come back into the team and create space and opportunities despite Edinburgh knowing the threat he posed, was exceptional.

Flyhalf Johan Goosen, coming back from a long-term knee injury, also slotted both his conversions and offered a couple of dangerous high-balls.

The coach said it was “wonderful” to have him back, as he made a big difference when he came on in the second half.

“You know how much I rate him, how much I talk about him in terms of how I want us to play. To have him 40 minutes in a game when our backs were against the wall. I think he showed everybody just how important he is to us at the Bulls.”

White also commended scrumhalf Embrose Papier for making a difference when he came on in the 68th minute for Zak Burger, who received a yellow card in the first half and had a pretty poor game.

Bulls will kick on from their second-half performance

Only prop Gerhard Steenekamp and utility back Willie le Roux are currently sidelined with injuries, while Springbok wing Kurt-Lee Arendse remains on sabbatical in Japan. White has said before that he doesn’t expect the speedster to return this season.

“[The team] will enjoy the fact that they’ve had some good game time and they’ve played well. But we are still very disappointed. The Bulls want to win every time they play in a competition. That’s why we brought the team we did and stayed in Biarritz and prepared properly.

“There will be a huge amount of disappointment and all I can expect next week is that we kick on from the second half in terms of what we did today because it’s not going to get any easier.”